Bed



July 3l, 1928.A 1,678,795

M. D. THOMAS BED Filed. Jun? 9. 1927 l1,678,795 M. D. THOMAS BED FiledJune 9, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OO O OO OO l l l lll ooooooo July 31, ma

f H I e Ie .Z/ in il u Patented July 31, 1928.

UNITED STATESk MINIFBED DAWES THOMAS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. Y

BED.

Application sied June 9,

This invention relates to folding or collapsible beds or moreparticularly to beds of this character Which are adapted to be folded orcollapsed by moving the head and foot portions of the bedv toward eachother by parallel or straight-line movement.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a bed Which may beadjusted so that it will require but comparatively little Hoor space sothat it is particularly adapted forI use in apartments or in rooms Wherethe floor space is limited or is vto be used for other purposes thansleeping rooms. Other objects of this invention are to provide animproved folding or collapsible bed Which Will be convenient inoperation and attrac- -tive in appearance; to provide a bed having afolding mattress and means for automatically folding the mattress Whenthe 'bed is moved to folded or retracted position; to provide a bedhaving head and foot portions With folding rails of the lazy tongs typewhich are arranged to hold the head and feet in parallel relation Whilepermitting their being moved toward and away from each other; toprovidea bed having folding rails and a folding mattress With means forswinging the mattress to vertical folded position; to provide a bedsteadhaving a folding bed bottom with a mattress or the like associatedtherewith and adapted to be moved from an extended horizontal to afolded vertical position; and to provide such other advantages` andimprovements as will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred for-m of myinvention,

Figure 1 is a side View With parts broken away to show the innerconstruction;

Figure 2 is a plan view alsovvithy portions broken away; y Figure 3 is aside View showing the bed in folded or collapsed position;

Figure l is a cross sectional vieW taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged and Figure 6 is a plan of the par-ts Figure 5.v

My improved bed comprises a head por- ;tion 7 and foot portion 8 whichmay be formed in any suitable manner but which are preferably curvedinwardly, as shown in detail in Figure 6 to connect With posts 9 andl10. Instead of the usual side rails, I provide eXtensible or adjustabledevices for sectional detail shown in 1927. Serial N0.v197,631.

supporting the bed orI bed bottom While at the same. time permitting thefoot and head or end portions of the bed to be moved to- Ward and awayfrom each other so thatv When the bed is not in use, it may be shortenedto occupy as small an amount of space as possible. In the Varrangementshown, these eXtensible devices comprise lazy tongs 11, the end leversof Which are pivoted respectively to the head and foot, as shown at 12and 13. The coacting end levers of the lazy tongs' are provided at thehead and foot respectively With pins orprojections 14 and 15 Whichengage With slots 16 andr 17 in v plates of guideways 18 and 19, securedto the head and footA posts. The pins are preferably provided Withheads, as shown in Figure 6, Which are adapted to move longitudinally inthe guideways and prevent the pins from becoming disengagedl from theslots. When the bed is in normal or extended position, as shown inFigure 1, the pins Will engage With the upper ends of the slots in orderto prevent further longitudinal or opening movement of the bed and theparts Will be in locked position so that these side members or lazytongs Will support the mat ltress or other portions of the bed proper.

When the bed is folded orV collapsed, as shown in Figure 3, the pinsWill be at the bottom ends of the slots and the levers formingthe lazytongs Will be moved to closed or folded position. This Will ordinarilybe accomplished by pushing the foot of the bed toward the head until theparts reach their eXtreme closed positions, at Which time the bed Willoccupy a comparatively small amount of space. While it is not theintention to disguise the bed, the parts may, if desired, be constructedor designed so that the bed When folded may have the appearance of someother piece of furniture.

The lazy tongs or side members 11 are provided With transversesupporting members such as the slats or bars 20, as shown l provide abed which can be made in any f the ends are VbeinO' swunO' u awardlv.

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partsy are so constructed that as the foot is `pressed toward the head,these arms will two parts and provided with a hinge adjacent to theupper surface, as shown at 24, so that the parts may be folded together.The' division of the parts is preferably nearer the foot of the bedtiian the head so that the hinge or line of division will comeapproximately under the lmees of the person lying on the bed, andtherefore will not bey likely to be noticed., .lfurtliermord by having`the divisions of unequal length, a space is provided when the bed isclosed, as shown in Figure 3, for the pillows 25.

ln order to raise tlieends of the mattress to vertical folded position,I provide opn positely disposedpaii's of arms 2G and 27 at the head andfoot of the bed, respectively,v

which arms are formed wit-li or rigidly secured to some of the levers ofthe lazy tongs whereby their outer ends will bev swung upwardly as thelazy tongs are contractedV or folded together. Cross, pieces or rollers28 and 29 are carried at the'outer ends of the pairs of arms and adaptedto roll or move along the lower surface of the mattress as These causethe ends ofl the mattress to be raised or swung on their hinge, and asthe closing movement is continued, the ends of the mattress will engage`with the vhead and foot so as to slide upwardly to the final closingposition, as shown in` Figure 3.. IfL desired cross pieceskor rollerssuch as shown` at 28 and 29 may be used in the place of the transversesupporting members 20. The partsV are preferably so proportioned thatwhen the bed is closed the space between the head and foot will only besuihcientto accommodate the mattress and other bedding. The bed clothes,such as the sheets and blankets `may be fastened to the mattress by.means of straps 30, having suitable buttons orfasteners 3l so that suchclothes will` be swung or folded with the corresponding portions of themattress; Y

It willbe noted, that the space between the ends` of the y'mattress andthe head and foot boards is preferably ksuch .as to permit a suilicientmovement of the lazy tongs to Vraise the ends of the mattress 'a short.distance before they are engaged by the. head and foot, this being inorder. to facilitate, the

closing operation.

From this description, it will be seen that desired .size butl whichwhen extended will be substantially the same as an ordinary bed, andwhich when folded will occupy but little room. Furthermore, my improvedbed cannot be inadvertently swung or moved to closed positiomsuch as mayoccur in some types-of ordinary folding beds, and therefore avoids thedangerous features of such beds.

It will, of course, be apparent that changes may be made in theconstruction l and the arrangement. of the parts or details -of myimproved bedstead in order to adapt it for different conditions or tolmake different designs thereof; therefore, l

A'e head and foot of a bed, of side memberscomprising v lazy tongs,means for connecting the lazy tongswith the head and foot to perirritthe head1 and foot to be moved toward and away from each other,.a seriesofftransverse slats carried by said side members, a hinged matf tressadapted to be; supported iirhorizontal position by said slats and meansoperatively connected to the Vside members for raising the ends of themattress when the headpand foot are moved toward each other;

2. Av bedl comprising end meinbersflfazy tong side members connectingthe end members, transverse mattress supporting inein-v bers carried bysaid lazy tongs, a mattress tbe formed in two parts and.' hingedtogether y and means operatively connected tothe lazy tongs for' raisingthe ends of the matv tress when the bed is closed.

3. The combination with lazy tong side rails for a bed, of transverseslats connected to the Aupper jointed ends of the lazy' tong levers andfhaving engaging faces for supporting a mattress, said' facesA beingarranged atan angle to each. other so that one facewi'll be inhorizontal position when the bed is closed,y and the other face/will: bein horizontal position when the bed is open. n

4, In a bedI construction, the. combination of end4 members havingcurved portions connecting with the posts, guid'eways secured to theposts, lazy4 tongl side rails having' theirv upper extremities pivotedtok the posts and their lower extremities provided with guides engagingywith said guide-ways, oppositely disposed pairs of' curved arms.secured' to lll) certain ofthe lazy tong leversy adacent to the endsthereof, rollers mounted between the ends of the pairs of arms,transverse slats: carried by said lazy tongsr and a. mattress comprisingtwo parts which are hinged J together and adapted to be supported onsaid slats, the arrangement being such that the` said rollers will moveupwardly beyond the slats when the bed" is closed and will tend to raisethe.y ends ofthe mattress upwardly:

5. The combination with collapsible side rail members comprising pivotedlevers of the character set forth of transverse slats rigidly secured tothe levers adjacent to their upper pivots, eachl slat having two en'ggiging faces arranged'at an angle to each other 1'30 Y and adapted toengage with a mattress, one

bf said faces being horizontal when the side rail members are collapsedand the other face horizontal when the side rail members are extended.

6. A bed construction comprising end members connected by lazy tong siderails, transverse slats rigidly connected to the upper portions of thelazy tongmembers and having engaging faces for supporting a mattress,said faces being arranged at an angle to each other so that one facewill be in horizontal position When the bed is closed, and the otherface Will be in horizontal posit-ion When the bed isopen, oppositelydisposed pairs of arms secured to certain of the lazy tong leversadjacent tothe ends thereof,and means carried by said arms forengagement With the ends of a folding mattress and adapted to raise theends of the mattress away from they slats when the bed starts to beclosed.

7 The combination with the head and foot of a bed, of lazy ton sidemembers, means for connecting the si e members with the head and foot topermit them to be moved toward and'away from each other, a series oftransverse supporting members carried by said side members and adaptedto support a-hinged mattress, arms secured to the side members adjacentto the ends thereof and adapted to swing upwardly as the side memberscollapse, and cross pieces carried by said arms and adapted to engagewith and raise the ends of the mattress when the b ed is being closed.

MINIFRED DAWES THOMAS.

